Breed Characteristics
Physical Characteristics
The Yorkshire Terrier Breed Standard
(British Kennel Club)
GENERAL APPEARANCE:
Long-Coated, coat hanging quite straight and evenly down each side, a
parting extending from nose to tail. Very compact and neat, carriage very
upright conveying an important air. General outline conveying impression of
vigorous and well proportioned body.
HEAD AND SKULL: Rather small and flat, not too
prominent or round in skull, not too long in muzzle; black
nose.
EYES: Medium, dark, sparkling, with sharp intelligent
expression and placed to look directly forward. Not prominent. Edge of
eyelids dark.
EARS: Small, V-shaped, carried erect, not too
far apart, covered with short hair, colour very deep, rich
tan.
MOUTH: Perfect, regular and complete scissor bite. i.e.
upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.
Teeth well placed with even jaws.
NECK: Good reach
FOREQUARTERS: Well laid shoulders, legs straight, well
covered with hair of rich golden tan a few shades lighter at the ends than
at roots, not extending higher on forelegs than elbow.
BODY:
Compact with moderate spring of rib, good loin. Level
Back.
HINDQUARTERS: Legs quite straight when viewed from
behind, moderate turn of stifle. Well covered with hair of rich golden tan a
few shades lighter at the ends than at roots, not extending higher on
hindlegs than stifle.
FEET: Rounds; nails black.
TAIL: Customarily docked to medium length with plenty of
hair, darker blue in colour than rest of body, especially at the end of
tail. Carried a little higher than level of back .
GAIT/MOVEMENT: Free with drive; straight action front and
behind, retaining level topline.
COAT: Hair on body moderately
long, perfectly straight (not wavy), glossy; fine silky texture, not woolly.
Fall on head long, rich golden tan, deeper in colour at sides of head, about
ear roots and on muzzle where it should be very long. Tan on head not to
extend on to neck, nor must any sooty or dark hair intermingle with any of
the tan.
COLOUR: Dark steel blue (not silver blue), extending
from occiput to root of tail, never mingled with fawn, bronze or dark hair.
Hair on chest rich, bright tan. All tan hair darker at the roots than in the
middle, shading still lighter at the tips.
SIZE: Weight up to
3.1 kgs (7lbs)
FAULTS: Any departure from the foregoing
points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault
should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its
degree.
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Yorkie Personality
( From the Essential Yorkshire Terrier )
BOLD: Their self confidence, coupled with their
inquisitiveness and, with their instinct to protect can get this little
dog into big trouble. They definitely believe that they are much
bigger than they are.
INTELLIGENT: They learn to
recognize an endless number of words, and can learn to communicate with
their owners or handlers with great success.
ACTIVE: They are very active, both vocally
and physically. They bounce, scamper, dart, and run with endless
energy. They also have a lot to say.
TENACIOUS: This will show up most when a
yorkie is in his hunting mode. If a yorkie thinks he is on the trail
of something, be it toy or critter, he will stay with it all day if
necessary. Give him a treat and he may look for just the right place to
hide it for hours.
INDEPENDENT: Yorkies put everything they have
into whatever they do, but they know when they need rest. This is
when your yorkie is likely to disappear to his favorite hiding place for a
nap.
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CHOCOLATE YORKIE
The "chocolate yorkie" is an overload of red gold and is a mutation therefore of our breed and should not be bred as it is a complete loss of pigment. Notice that the nose is liver colored and that there are no black eye rims on this puppy.
The understanding that AKC has many colors on their list that will allow almost any color Yorkie to be registered and the parent Club is working to disallow that. I have been approached by people who have registered this color, even though it is incorrect for our breed. There is no reason that they cannot be placed in a loving pet home and live a good life, but they are definitely a mutation to our breed and not in line with the Standard we want to withhold.
Those that advertise this color as RARE are being dishonest in that they are just trying to enrich themselves with more money, in spite of the lack of pigment in the dogs they produce which could bring a genetic nightmare to the breed.
Don't be taken in by this false advertising.
Information from: Terri Shumsky
http://www.vassarsquare.com/
or
http://www.tsfannymaelivershunt.com/
For info on Terri's book go to
http://webpages.charter.net/tshumsky805/book.htm
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 These
puppies are what yorkies should look like when they are young. The coloring,
and resemblance is more like tiny rottweilers
than the
adorable long haired dogs they will mature
into. They are quite different from the one above, referred to as a
choclate yorkie. These little fellows should grow up to
become the Yorkshire Terrier that we are all familiar with.
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This diagram illustrates the skeletal parts
of the Yorkshire Terrier, together with the
conformation points.
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SKELETON
1.) Skull
2.) cervical
vertebra
3.) Thoracic vertebra
4.) Rib
5.) Lumber vertebra
6.)
Coccygeal vertebra
7.) Pelvis
8.) Femur
9.)Patella
10.)
Fibula
11.) Metatarsus
12.) Tarsus
13.) Tibia
14.)
Sternum
15.) Phalanges
16.) Radius
17.) Ulna
18.)
Humerus
19.) Scapula |
CONFORMATION POINTS
A.) Occiput
B.)
Forehead
C.) Stop
D.) Muzzle
E.) Shoulder
F.) Elbow
G.)
Forearm
H.) Pastern
I.) Hock
J.) Stifle
K.) Thigh
L.)
Loin
M.) Tail
N.) Back
O.)
Withers
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RECORDED IN GUINNESS BOOK OF
RECORDS
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According to the Guinness Book of World Records a Yorkshire
terrier holds the distinction of being the smallest dog in history. This
matchbox-sized Yorkie, when fully grown at the age of 2, stood 2 ½ inches
at the shoulder, measured 3 3/4 inches from the tip of its nose to the
root of its tail, and weighed 4 ounces. Owned by Arthur Marples of
Blackburn, Great Britain, this elfin dog died in 1945.
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